What is your full name? Do you know why your parents chose that name for you? Were you named after an ancestor? Someone famous? Do you have a nickname?
Why
you say is it important to get the full name of the ancestor? Well for
one thing it was very common to get the middle name of many of our
ancestors from surnames on the maiden side of the family. In my
genealogy I had a middle name that was used repeatedly. It turned out
that two generations down the line it ended up being a surname. This is
very common.
Knowing
why someone used a particular first name may offer clues to past
generations. Naming traditions were very common in many ethnic
backgrounds. The first born son was named after the fathers father, the
first born daughter was named after the fathers mother, second son was
named after the mother's father, second daughter after the mother's
mother and so on down the line. Please understand that our families
were not real creative in coming up with regional names. A relative
uncommon name like Magdalena can be popular when naming traditions are
involved.
A
common name to someone famous does not indicate that your ancestor is
related to that person somehow. It is common today to have research
done to prove relationships to people that are famous. Proof is not
always there.
Finally
pay attention to nicknames. My own grandmother was named Babe for the
first five years of her life, because my great grandparents could not
decide on a family name. Surprisingly these names appear many times in
public records. Checking several sources will help in finding the true
name.
So
when doing your interviews be sure to ask questions that will offer
solutions to problems that may be created as you do your research.
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